Perpignan secured their future in the Top 14 by winning the Access Match on Sunday. Perpignan traveled to Aix en Provence and completed a 47-24 victory over the second placed side from the 2025-2026 Pro D2 season. The win came with a flurry of Argentine tries.
Perpignan ran in seven tries, four of which were scored by Argentines. Puma Joaquín Oveido scored twice, doing so in the 44th and 77th minutes. Ignacio Ruiz scored on 65 minutes and Jerónimo de La Fuente in the 80th minute. Provence also had a South American try. Captain, Andrés Zafra scored for Provence in the 25th minute. Zafra is from Colombia.
Meanwhile, former Puma Benjamín Urdapilleta had been named to start for Perpignan but was ruled out. Urdapilleta came out of retirement to join Perpignan as an emergency medical joker during the 2025-2026 season.
The result of the Access Match means Provence will compete again in the Pro D2 next season while Perpignan remain in the Top 14. The concept of 13th from the Top 14 playing away against the losing side from the Pro D2 Final in an Access Match began in 2018.
Perpignan have completed in four of the seven Access Matches thus far. The first was in 2022 against Mont de Marsan. Jerónimo de La Fuente and Joaquín Oviedo were involved. Oviedo was involved against Grenoble in 2023 and again in 2025 with Jerónimo de la Fuente captaining the team to safety.
 ACCESS MATCH – HISTORIC RESULTS |